Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes' office said in a statement the appeal will be filed in the coming weeks. "Attorney General Reyes has a sworn duty to defend the laws of our state," the statement said.

The Supreme Court is under no obligation to hear the appeal, and there is no deadline to make a decision, said William Eskridge, a law professor at Yale University. The three-judge 10th Circuit panel put its June 25 ruling on hold pending an appeal.